The 2023 settlement agreement with Westbound records royalties and does not affect the central issue of Worrell’s co-authorship status, the estate emphasized. The settlement merely preserved the estate’s ability to continue its claims against Clinton and Thang, and it did not resolve the larger dispute over royalties from the iconic 1960s and 1970s tracks.
Clinton and Thang’s allegations that the settlement agreement is essential for understanding damages were also contested by the estate. It clarified that it was not seeking damages in the case. Instead, the estate is focused on obtaining an accounting of the royalties owed from Clinton and his company, but not from Westbound.
In the ongoing legal battle, several record companies—SoundExchange, Universal Music, Warner Brothers, Sony, and Westbound—were initially named in the estate’s complaint but were later dismissed, with the understanding that they would abide by any court rulings or settlements. In January 2024, Judge F. Kay Behm dismissed SoundExchange from the case, determining that the estate’s alleged injury stemmed directly from Clinton and Thang Inc.
